1Cooperative Institute for Research in the Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL), 325 Broadway, Boulder, Colorado 80305, USA

Abstract

The Ozone Profiling Atmospheric Lidar is a scanning four-wavelength ultraviolet differential absorption lidar that measures tropospheric ozone and aerosols. Derived profiles from the lidar data include ozone concentration, aerosol extinction, and calibrated aerosol backscatter. Aerosol calibrations assume a clear air region aloft. Other products include cloud base heights, aerosol layer heights, and scans of particulate plumes from aircraft. The aerosol data range from 280m to 12km with 5m range resolution, while the ozone data ranges from 280m to about 1.2km with 100m resolution. In horizontally homogeneous atmospheres, data from multiple-elevation angles is combined to reduce the minimum altitude of the aerosol and ozone profiles to about 20m. The lidar design, the characterization of the photomultiplier tubes, ozone and aerosol analysis techniques, and sample data are described. Also discussed is a double-gating technique to shorten the gated turn-on time of the photomultiplier tubes, and thereby reduce the detection of background light and the outgoing laser pulse.

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